Bears double up Utica, 6-3

Hershey's Nathan Walker gets a breakaway during an earlier regular-season home game against WIlkes-Barre/Scranton on Dec. 6, 2015. The Bears hosted Utica on Sunday following a three-game road trip.(Photo: File)

Tied at 3-3 and down a man with 3:28 to play in the game, it looked as if the Hershey Bears would be lucky to get to overtime and get a point out of the weekend. But as they have done numerous times this season, the Bears dug a little deeper and displayed a glimpse of just how good they can be.

Erik Burgdoerfer flipped the puck towards center ice where Sean Collins and Dustin Gazley jumped on it for a two-on-one. Gazley slipped the puck to Collins who scored the game-winning shorthanded goal with 2:41 to play in the game and gave the Hershey Bears their first win of the weekend.

“It was probably the easiest goal I’ve ever scored,” said Collins, who was quick to give credit to Gazley for his efforts on the two-on-one.

Coming off two losses, the Bears snapped their two-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Utica Comets at the Giant Center.

The game was quite a bit closer than the score indicates as the Bears tacked on two empty-net goals in the waning seconds of the game to secure the win.

Hershey, without Chandler Stephenson and Riley Barber due to injuries and Mike Moore to illness, suited up eight defensemen, but it was Hershey’s resilience that finally paid off in the end, which was brought up by head coach Troy Mann in the post-game press conference.

“I thought we competed hard all weekend actually, and it was a much needed win for us,” Mann said.

Chris Bourque got the Bears on the board early in the first period when he fired a shot from just inside the blue line that found its way through a screen and into the back of the goal.

The Bears held the lead for over three minutes until Utica's Mike Pereira got loose along the right side and shot the puck past both Erik Burgdoerfer and goaltender Dan Ellis to tie the game at 1-1.

Hershey’s penalty kill was called into action twice in the first period as Ellis and the defense came up with some big stops to keep the game tied, including the save of the game from Burgdoerfer as he sailed into the air and swatted the puck to the corner after it trickled through Ellis’s legs. Hershey also had some excellent offensive opportunities in the first, but Utica’s Joe Cannata stopped 11 of 12 shots including three point-blank attempts by the Bears.

Collins tied the game at two in the second period, with his first of two goals in the game, when he skated alone down the left-hand side and beat Cannata.

Five minutes later, with the Bears on the power play, Liam O’Brien fed a pass to defenseman Christian Djoos, who directed the puck into the goal for the 3-2 lead. Utica would respond with a power play goal of their own64 seconds into the third to tie the game once again. Both teams finished 1 for 5 on the Power Play, but Hershey's short-handed goal made the difference.

Mann is hopeful that some reinforcements will arrive for next week’s games. “Things should change Friday pretty quickly,” he said. “We could possibly see one forward, maybe two, which would be nice, because we’re obviously banged up pretty good there and could use some guys.”

Official attendance was 10,982. All fans in attendance tonight received a Hershey Park Pass upon entry.

The three stars were Collins, Bourque, and Djoos. The Bears travel to Lehigh Valley Friday before returning to Giant Center to host the Springfield Falcons Saturday and Sunday.